The Forbidden Sons V: The fallen King
by Just Somedude 1
Summary: Eight months have passed since Circe escaped yet again, and time has not been kind. With Eli and Kayla's son due anytime, civil war brewing on Olympus, and dark forces working to destroy the world they all know and love, the three heroes of the next Great Prophecy need a miracle, and fast. Else they risk watching all they have worked towards thus far slowly burn away.
1. Chapter 1: The first victory

**Hey everyone, I'm back, finally. So, quick update on what I've been up to and why I've been gone so long. So I went and joined the Army, had to leave for basic and AIT, I'm at my duty station now, and settled in, so don't worry, I shouldn't disappear on you guys like that again. But I did work out a pretty decent system, and got all of this story planned out and a good chunk of it actually written while I was in training in this notebook I went and bought at the troop store, so updates should come fairly quickly, there's a few parts here and there that I'd like to change maybe, and some of it's not written at all, but I've got a basic layout to go off of, and so without any further rambling, we'll get on into it.**

Chapter 1: The first victory

Antonio:

"I think we pissed it off!" I called to Raven, ducking as a column of fire passed over my head

"I'd say it's mildly upset!" He called back

What were we doing? Well, nothing out of the ordinary, just helping Hecate, the goddess of magic, recapture a Chimera that had escaped from her in exchange for information she may have had about Circe and what she was up to. What exactly was she doing keeping one locked up? Hell if I know, but I did intend to ask about it once we'd gotten this little mess sorted out.

I moved from my hiding spot as the Chimera took off, flying above us and landing on the other side of the construction yard, planting it's paws firmly in the ground, preparing to attack again.

This time, however, Raven was ready for it, already in place behind a stack of cinder blocks. While it's attention was focused on me, Raven came from behind, taking a swing at it's tail, aiming to deprive it of one of it's weapons. The snake, which was the tail, spotted him and lashed out, narrowly missing his neck, alerting the Chimera to the threat behind it. It turned, but Raven let out a high pitched whistle, and a loud bark was heard as a flash of white fur rushed from the other side, jumping into the air and landing on top of the Chimera, sinking it's teeth into it's neck.

While the Chimera was distracted with Jello, Raven's ever faithful canine companion, the two of us moved simultaneously, rushing the sides and hoping to take out the feet, at least, that's what_ I_ was aiming for. The Chimera whipped itself around, causing Jello to lose her grip and tumble to the ground, dashing away as the snake lashed out at the dirt. Raven managed to get a lucky strike in, cutting the side, causing it to roar in pain. Unfortunately for me, that roar came with a lot of flames, forcing me to roll in the opposite direction to avoid being turned extra crispy.

"Watch it!" I yelled, dodging a claw

"Sorry!" He replied

I backed away quickly, keeping my sword leveled just in case it jumped, but, instead, it turned back to Raven, who was attempting to take off one of the wings. He narrowly avoided having a chunk taking out of his leg as the Chimera snapped at him, tasting nothing but air and becoming even more irritated.

"Tas!" I tried again, not expecting it to work

Again, bonds began to form around the Chimera, but, just as quickly as they appeared, it breathed a column of fire and burned them away before they even had a chance to tighten around it. It did slow it down enough for Jello to rush in, bite a leg, and run away again. The Chimera shrieked in pain, turning so that it's snake tail could take a strike at Jello, but she was already long gone.

"Look out!" Raven screamed

I turned, just in time, as the Chimera rushed me, using it's wings to give it a bit extra force as it bore down on top of me. I took another swing, clipping a wing and saving myself as it knocked the Chimera off balance. We'd done a little bit of damage, but hardly enough to actually take the thing out of the fight, and I was beginning to wonder if it would even be possible for us to fulfill Hecate's wish to bring it back to her alive. I, at least, was trying. Raven, on the other hand, didn't really seem to care if he accidentally killed the thing or not, he was just trying to survive, or having the time of his life, I couldn't really figure out which one.

"Ha-tep!" Raven tried for the third time, still to no avail

"How did Percy say he beat this thing?" I asked as Raven and I took cover together behind a stack of concrete

"He didn't, he took a dive off of the St. Louis arch," He recalled "Looks like we'll have to be innovative."

"Think you can distract it for a minute?" I asked, spotting a crane at the end of the yard

"Probably," He grunted "What'd you have in mind."

"Figured I'd take up a skilled trade." I said, nodding to the crane

"I am so glad we picked you up." He laughed, saying no more as he jumped from our hiding spot and rushed towards the Chimera

Jello followed closely on his heels, and together, the two of them kept the Chimera occupied while I slipped off towards the crane, praying that it didn't suddenly take an interest in me.

Fortunately, the Chimera was as stupid as it was smart. Like most monsters, it fought with tunnel vision, and elected to attack the closer, and most likely tastier, snack as opposed to looking around at the bigger picture, a trait found in most monsters, and one that had saved my skin on more than one occasion.

Not like I'm complaining.

I made a break for the crane, closing the distance in just a few seconds and diving behind the tracks, risking a peek over to make sure the Chimera was still focused on Raven. Thankfully, it was, and I slipped inside the crane, staring, dumbfounded at all the buttons inside, having no clue what to do.

"Of all the times I wish Leo was here." I grumbled, electing to click a giant red button

My guess paid off, and I felt the crane rumble to life. Unfortunately, the Chimera heard it as well, and turned to investigate the noise. Raven, realizing what it was looking at, quickly moved between us, no doubt trying to buy me time to figure out how exactly I was supposed to work this thing.

Jello continued to attack the ankles, snapping and biting where she could, and I looked back down at the controls, grabbing one of the levers and pulling it down. The crane spun all the way around, facing me in the opposite direction of the fight. I cursed myself and pushed the lever back, spinning me back to where I needed to be. I moved the other lever, dropping the crane arm just a little bit before pulling it back up.

Good, I'd found the only control I needed, now it was just a matter of could I kill the Chimera without smashing Raven or Jello in the process.

I pushed the first lever a little bit, adjusting the crane until I was nearly on top of the Chimera. Raven, noticing what I was doing, dove out of the way just as I pushed the second lever and the ball fell. The Chimera, poor bastard, looked up just in time to see it smash down on top of it.

The ground shook as the ball pushed into the Earth, sending up a cloud of dust and cracking the ground.

No fire breathing, snake tailed monsters climbed out from under it.

"Genius," Raven said admiringly as I got out of the cab "Hecate won't be happy, but genius nonetheless."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged, climbing down "Can't please everybody."

Suddenly, the wind picked up a little as my feet touched the ground. A small wisp of green mist danced through the air in front of us before landing on the ground in front of us, materializing into a woman before our very eyes. She wore a dark, sleeveless gown and stood taller than even me. Her hair was set in a high-set ponytail, and she carried a pair of torches in each hand.

Hecate, the goddess of magic.

"Lady Hecate," Raven said as the two of us knelt "We've done as you asked."

"Done as I asked?" She said, gaping at the crane ball in the ground "I asked you to capture it, not to kill it."

"Well it wasn't playing by the same rules," I told her "My apologies."

"Ugh," She groaned in frustration "Now I'll have to wait for it to reform again, do you know how long that could take."

"Who cares?" Raven grumbled "You're fucking immortal."

She either didn't hear him or ignored him, in either case, she sighed, waving for the two of us to rise before looking back at the Chimera, or, rather, where it had been just a few minutes before. She looked irritated, and I wondered if this was the time to speak up or not. Either way, I guess Raven wasn't waiting around to find out.

"I believe you have an end of the bargain to hold up." He said, clearing his throat

"Hold up?" She demanded, turning to face us "Why should I? You didn't hold up yours."

"Well, probably because the fate of the world is at stake or something," He replied, his expression not faltering "Sorry about the Chimera, but it couldn't be helped. You said you'd help us if we took care of it, in a way, we took care of it."

"I told you, what I know is only speculation," She argued "I can't even be sure of what I tell you."

"It's better than nothing," I said "It's been eight months, we need something to go off of."

"You'll need a lot more than something to go off of to pull this off," She sighed "You'd need a damned miracle."

"It starts with something, right?" Raven pointed out

"Very well," She finally agreed "From what I know of my daughter, and this potion, I would say she's attempting to use some sort of magic to bring back Ouranos."

"What exactly?" I asked her

"There's only one way I know of that even gives Ouranos the slightest chance of return," She said, her eyes taking a very foreboding look "And it's dark magic, very, very dark magic."

"What is it?" Raven asked her, raising his eyebrows

"Το πρωτογενές μυστήριο" She said

The translation came almost automatically to me. For some reason, even as I said the name, I felt a strange sense of fear, even though I didn't have a clue what any of this actually meant. But, just for a moment, the sky darkened, and the clouds seemed to grow agitated.

"The Primordial Sacrament." I translated

"Yes," Hecate nodded "One of the darkest, most evil forms of magic there is, due to the nature of it's casting."

"Nature of it's casting?" I asked, confused

"Combined with this potion, theoretically, it could bring anyone back from the very doorsteps of Oblivion," She said, sounding scared "The blood of the innocent, the flesh of the virgin, and a gift from the enemy."

"A gift from the enemy?" Raven asked, clearly caught off guard "What does that mean?"

"It could mean anything," She shrugged "If you so much as tossed a drachma into that cauldron, it could count."

"If that's all she needs," I wondered "Why has it been eight months?"

"Well, you can't just do all of that and viola, Ouranos rises," She said, smiling slightly "She needs to find the pieces of Ouranos' body in order for it to work."

"How can we stop it?" Raven asked her "There's got to be some way to counter that, right?"

"My dear boy," She said, as though it should've been obvious "You have to find the pieces before she does, or all will be lost."

Eli:

"Think that's it?" Justin asked me as we peered over the rocks

"It's gotta be," I whispered back "But I don't see Circe, or monsters."

"That campfire's still smoking," Justin noted "She can't be far."

Our orders were to find Circe, and then signal to Reyna, who was camped on the other side of the hill with a few hundred Romans. It should've been simple, except the camp was completely empty. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed, frustrated with the day's events. I'd spent months tracking her while Raven and Antonio worked on their end to find out what she was up to, and eight months had produced almost no results.

We'd finally caught a break, and a captured Draceana had revealed that she was camped up in the mountains outside of San Francisco. So far, the information had proved true up to this point, but she hadn't said anything about Circe moving out.

My thoughts drifted back to Kayla, as they often did when I found myself with a few moments to think. I hadn't talked to her in almost a week, hadn't seen her since the last time I had visited Camp Half-Blood, nearly three months prior. I was starting to find it pretty difficult to juggle a pregnant girlfriend and saving the world at the same time, but Kayla was understanding. Or, at least, she acted like she was. She was too good at covering up her emotions, even from me.

My mother had been...less than thrilled when I'd told her Kayla was pregnant, and Apollo even less so. But I hadn't been turned into a tree or barbecued extra crispy, so I figured that the two of them couldn't be too mad at me.

"We should check it out," Justin said, pulling me back to reality "Maybe they left tracks."

"I don't know," I said, looking around "It's too quiet, man, this feels like a setup."

"Everything feels like a setup to you," He said, rolling his eyes "C'mon."

Reluctantly, I followed him down the rocks and into the camp below us. When we reached the ground, we split up, heading off around either side of the camp, keeping our eyes peeled for hungry monsters. We made it inside the main camp without getting attacked, and I began to relax a little. If it was a trap, I'm sure they would've sprung it long before we got there.

If only I'd known...

"Check this out," I told Justin, indicating to some hoofprints I'd found "They head off that way."

"Good," He nodded "Let's follow them, once we find them, we'll signal for Reyna."

Without another word, I drew my bow, heading off down the path. Justin pulled out his spear and followed me, keeping his shield raised as he did so. I wasn't exactly sure how far ahead of us Circe had gotten, but I knew she had to be close.

Unfortunately, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching us. No matter how much I looked, I couldn't seem to see anything that even remotely resembled a threat, but every single hair on my neck was standing on end. I had a terrible feeling about this whole thing, but Romans don't shy away from a fight based on feelings.

Maybe we should start.

"There's something out here," I finally said, casting a glance over to Justin "I'm telling you, man, it's-"

Before I could finish the thought, I heard a low growl come from one of the bushes behind me. In a flash, on pure instinct alone, I turned, firing an arrow into the bush. I was rewarded with a thunk sound and a sharp yelp. Quickly, sensing others coming from behind trees and rocks, my bow turned back into my father's necklace, and I drew my knives as quickly as I could, turning just in time to cut a Hellhound out of the air as it jumped at me.

Justin smashed one in the face with his shield, impaling a second one with his spear at the same time. I kicked another one in the ribs, rolling out of the way as a second snapped the air where my foot had been a moment before. As I came up, I flung a ball of silver light into it's face, vaporizing it in an instance.

"Khe-fa!" I yelled, raising my hand towards a group of Hellhounds

As if struck by some invisible force, they flew backwards, tumbling down a ravine behind them and disappearing from view. Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from the trees, and the Hellhounds stopped attacking. They retreated away from us, forming a circle around the two of us as more monsters began stepping out of the trees. Just as I was beginning to wonder where she was hiding, Circe stepped out of the horde, a cocky smile displayed on her face.

"Ah, son of Diana," She said conversationally "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Too long," I agreed "Reyna's missed you."

"Oh we'll see her before long," She grinned "Camp Jupiter will be in ruins soon, and I look forward to seeing Reyna's face as her home burns."

"How'd you feel about seeing her face today?" Justin snapped, reaching into his back pocket

He whipped out a flare gun, and before anyone could stop him, fire it straight into the air. Circe's face didn't change, but I could see in her eyes she wasn't keen to meet Reyna in battle again. Even broken, wounded, and exhausted, Reyna had put up a good fight against her, I wasn't exactly jealous of her opportunity to go against her at full strength.

"Call your little reinforcements," She snarled "They'll only find your bodies."

With those words, she jumped into attack mode, her monster horde following close behind her. I ducked an axe from a Cyclops and stabbed his ribs as I came up, cutting the throat of a Hellhound as I stood up. I went on the defensive, dodging, weaving, and ducking as fast as I could, planting a strike here and there when I could.

I hoped Reyna and the others were moving fast, because I couldn't keep this up forever. Justin, on the other hand, was like a one man army. Using his shield to block any incoming attacks and using his spear to take out monsters from a distance, it really was incredible to watch. Within five minutes, he was already eight kills ahead of me, but there were plenty more where they came from.

"Ghhaa!" A Telkhine shrieked as I plunged one of my knives into his chest

I blocked a sword from somewhere, rolling out of the way as a Hellhound came bounding through. Soon, Justin and I were backing away, doing our best to keep the monsters in front of us, but they surrounded us either way. We were now back to back, with the others nowhere in sight.

"Been a while since I've been in a situation like this." Justin said to me

"Really?" I grinned "I do this every week."

As the monsters moved closer, I extended my hand out, aiming in the general direction of Circe, and praying I found my mark. I didn't have high expectations, but history was filled with men who'd gotten a lucky shot in and turned the tides of a war in their favor.

"A'max!" I yelled

A column of flames appeared in front of us, swallowing twenty or thirty monsters in an instant. The others began to scatter as Circe went to work putting out the flames, but it was too late. I hadn't killed her, but I'd made an opening, and that's all I needed.

"Cover me." I told Justin

With that, I rushed through the flames, catching Circe off guard as she turned, swinging her staff and almost hitting me in the face. I ducked and rolled, coming up and taking two quick strikes at her ribs, which she dodged. She lashed out with her foot, kicking my ankle backwards and swinging her staff once more.

I used the momentum of the kick to roll off to the side, barely avoiding taking a large chunk of metal to the face, but still avoiding it nonetheless. Circe went on the complete offensive, swinging wildly and occasionally sending a ball of flames or lightning towards me. I was keeping her busy with relative ease, but she wasn't showing any signs of slowing down, and I wondered how long she'd be able to keep this up.

I found an opening and struck, scratching her shoulder and drawing a little blood, but she still didn't slow down. As she rushed me, I moved to the side, aiming to stab her leg, but she kicked my hand away with her other foot, knocking me off balance and forcing me backwards.

"You don't even know your own strength," She taunted me "I've had centuries of training, boy."

"Couldn't tell," I smirked "Face it, you're just an old, washed up bag of cheap magic tricks."

_That_ got the reaction I was looking for. In a blind rage, she swung wildly, completely missing my head, which she had intended to hit, and giving me the opening I needed. At point blank range, I hit her with a blast of silver light, throwing her backwards and causing her to drop her staff.

I used the moment to check on Justin, who was keeping the monsters off of me just fine. Even better, I could hear the sound of blades clashing on the other side of their ranks, and I spotted the banner of the fifth and second cohorts, high in the air.

I turned back to Circe, closing the distance between us as she attempted to recover her staff, kneeing her in the face and sending her sprawling to her back. I had her beaten, I could feel it, she was moving much slower and very clearly in a lot of pain, still not fully recovered from the blast.

"Last chance," I said, hauling her to her feet and slamming her into a tree "Give me the potion, maybe I'll convince Reyna to spare your life."

"You may as well kill me," She spat "I'll tell you nothing."

"We'll see," I grinned, extending my hand "Tas!"

A coil of rope appeared and snaked it's way up her body, binding her where she was. I turned back to check on the battle, finding that most of the monsters were retreating off into the woods, dropping their weapons and screaming in panic. Reyna led the charge, bearing down on those who had chosen to stand their ground.

They didn't stand a chance.

I reached into the Duat, pulling some more rope out of my "safe" and bound Circe's hands and feet a little tighter, ensuring she wasn't going anywhere. As quickly as it started, the battle was slowing down with only a few Roman casualties as the rest of the monsters, who'd been so defiant moments before, retreated into the woods in panic.

"COWARDS!" Circe raged after them "LORD OURANOS WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS FOR THIS!"

I approached Reyna, who was helping one of the medics patch up a girl who'd taken an arrow to the shoulder. She looked up, raising her eyebrows but not saying a word. I knew exactly what she was asking me: Did it work? Did we get her?

In response, I moved aside and gestured behind me, letting her see Circe bound up and sitting against a rock a few yards away. Reyna smiled, clearly more than happy with the days events as she rose to her feet and approached the witch.

"Circe," She said, her face and voice returning to their normal, cold demeanor "I told you that you couldn't escape me."

"You are foolish," Circe spat at her "Ouranos will destroy you, all of you! You are powerless to stop him!"

"Even if he does manage to come back," Reyna growled getting down in her face "You won't live to see it. The senate will decide your fate, but, if I were you, I'd make your peace now."

"And why's that?" She demanded

"There are a great many in the Legion who call for your execution," Reyna told her, looking down on her with hate "I will be more than happy to oblige them."

Circe's face, again, didn't change, but I could see the fear in her eyes. It seemed, for the moment at least, we'd scored a victory, and a pretty big one at that. After a moment or two, Reyna turned away, waving to one of her other Centurions and I.

"Take her away!" She ordered

I hauled Circe to her feet and shoved her forward, loosening the spell on her feet so that she could walk, and boy did she have a lot of that to do, Camp Jupiter was at least eight or nine miles away.

I really could get used to this winning thing.


	2. Chapter 2: The waiting game

Chapter 2: The waiting game

Percy:

"So what exactly is it that you need from me?" I asked as we walked

"Advice," Raven said simply "You've had more experience than anybody else here in dealing with impossible quests."

"If you're looking for somebody to help you solve this whole thing," I smiled sadly "You've got the wrong guy, man. Annabeth's the one that's good at that."

"And yet, I came to you and not to her," He told me "Why do you think that is?"

"I think it's because you believe this a problem you can solve by driving a sword through it's heart." I guessed

"That might be part of the reason," He admitted "Chiron advised me to draw on past wisdom wherever I could find it."

"The problem is," I guessed "You don't have any past wisdom in this regard."

"And you do." Raven finished

"Raven, this is something else entirely," I began "Finding the pieces of Ouranos, this Primordial Sacrament, Apophis, it's all completely different."

"It's just another impossible task," He argued "Just like Kronos and Gaea."

"No, nothing like Kronos and Gaea," I said, looking out over the ocean "Ouranos is more powerful than both of them, so is Apophis. The two of them together..."

I didn't have to finish the thought, we both already knew what I was thinking. My odds hadn't been very good against Kronos, and they hadn't been good against Gaea either. Raven's odds were next to impossible, and they were getting slimmer by the day, and they'd be almost nonexistent if Ouranos was actually to rise.

"That's why we have to stop him," He said desperately "Perce, we can't let this happen, I _won't _let this happen. Camp Half-Blood is my home."

"It's mine too," I said "You're not gonna do this alone. When the time comes, I'll be right there to fight by your side. So will Eli, Antonio, Jason, Frank, Reyna, Hazel, and the rest of us."

"Do you think we can do it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow "Do you really think we stand a snowball's chance in Hell?"

"Honestly?" I asked him

He nodded.

I thought about my answer for a moment, did I really believe that any of us stood a chance. Did I really think that Ouranos could be stopped, the world could be saved, and the gods would stop fighting eachother long enough to help us win this war?

"No," I answered flatly "I wouldn't go around telling people that, but, deep down, I sorta feel like this is it for us."

"But?" He asked, knowing I had more to say

"But, we can't give up," I answered "Just because I feel like this is it doesn't mean it is."

"Okay," He said, clearly expecting something else as he turned to walk towards the Big House "I appreciate the inspirational speech, but it's not gonna help us win. Let's go, Chiron's expecting us."

"Eh, you'd be surprised," I shrugged, following him "I wouldn't have made it as far as I did sometimes without remembering things people had told me."

"That might've been what drove you," He said "But it was your reflexes, skills, and drive to win that helped you in the end."

"A drive to win is the most important thing to have," I countered "Where do you think that drive to win comes from?"

He fell silent, digesting my words. I felt bad that I couldn't offer him any advice, but I'd never faced anything like this before. Regardless, I'd meant what I'd said. During my time, people had stood by my side when they didn't have to, fought with me against impossible odds and risked their lives when it wasn't even their job to do so, they had helped me succeed by being there for me when I knew I couldn't do it alone.

Now, I guess it was my turn to play that part.

We approached the front porch, and already I could see Antonio, Artemis, Amber, Thalia, Annabeth, the Stoll brothers, Clarrise, and Jason inside waiting for us. Once we had entered, Artemis stood and came over to Raven, an urgent look on her face. I sensed a strictly mother/son thing coming, so I stepped off towards Annabeth.

"How's he doing?" She asked me, nodding to Raven

"Worked up," I told her "Same as I was, he's looking for anybody he thinks can even help him in the slightest."

"What'd you tell him?" She asked, raising an eyebrow

"Same thing I told you." I shrugged

"I really doubt that helped his morale at all." She noted, watching Raven and Artemis closely

"I don't think it matters." I said, taking a seat around the ping pong table

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, sitting next to me

"I've seen him fight when all seemed lost, when we were surrounded, outnumbered, and half-starved. I've seen him fight when we had the upper hand, when the battle was won and we knew we had it," I explained "He fought just as hard in either sense. I don't think morale is going to effect him, I think what he's fighting for will."

"I hope you're right," She sighed "I hope he's ready."

Before I could respond, I heard the sounds of hooves on the front porch just before Chiron stepped inside. Thalia and Antonio stepped away from the door, giving him room to step inside. As he entered, he stepped into his wheelchair in the corner of the room, moving it forward and taking a spot at the other end of the table.

"Please, forgive my tardiness, Lady Artemis," He said, turning to the Huntress "There was another brawl in the Ares cabin to deal with."

"I told you to just let them scrap," Clarrise said, rolling her eyes "They aren't going to kill eachother."

"_They_ might not," Chiron agreed "But the angry Hephaestus campers who stormed the cabin in retaliation for Leo getting jumped the other night might've."

"Shouldn't have been out alone," She shrugged "I warned him."

"Warning him doesn't do anything," Antonio told her "You need to get your damn cabin in check, this isn't the time to be beating eachother senseless."

"Oh, well by all means," Clarrise spat back at him "If you think you'll have better luck than I have, go right on ahead and go in there."

"He's right," Raven said, leaning across the table and glaring at Clarrise "This stuff has been going on for months, almost everyone else here as gotten their cabins under control. Get your people in check, or I'll come down there and do it."

While Antonio might not have been willing to jump into a crowd of angry Ares campers, even knowing full well he could use his powers to bring them to submission, Raven would not be the least bit hesitant. He loved a fight, relished the taste of his own blood, and he didn't have any qualms about bringing every single one of them to their knees.

Clarrise, fully aware of this fact, stayed quiet. Her eyes were seething, but a daughter of the war god recognized and respected a more powerful adversary better than anybody else did.

That didn't mean she'd shy away from the fight if Raven went marching down to her cabin.

"On to business then," Chiron said, trying to defuse the tension "Jason."

"I just got word from Reyna," Jason spoke up as our eyes turned to him "She and Eli led a small force out last night and managed to capture Circe."

"What?" Several voices spoke up

Instantly, the room was ablaze with questions. How? Where? Even I was shocked, as we hadn't even heard anything about them having the slightest inkling where she was. Jason waited for everybody to quiet down before he continued, and he seemed on edge, as if he knew every sentence would set the room on fire again.

"The mission was top secret to avoid Circe catching wind and fleeing before they arrived," He explained "Less than a handful of people knew, most of the Romans that went out with them thought it was just a training exercise."

"So what now?" Amber asked, bringing up the question on everyone's mind

"It was the Romans who captured her," Chiron said "Ouranos and his armies will have all eyes on Camp Jupiter."

"We need to send help," I spoke up "We have to help them defend the camp, just like they helped us."

The room buzzed with agreement, and instantly people started making battle plans. Asking what we could spare, how many people we would be sending, how they were going to be getting there, and what measures we would be taking once we did.

"We will send them what we can!" Chiron called, forcing everybody to fall silent "However, with Ouranos focused on Camp Jupiter, Circe is not safe there."

"So what are we going to do with her?" Thalia asked

"Reyna is going to be bringing Eli and some of the second cohort to escort her here," Jason said "Romans captured her, the monsters will think she's in California, with out a clue she's on the complete opposite side of the country."

"Where are we even supposed to keep her?" Annabeth asked "It's not like we have a dungeon."

"Leo can make us a cell," Chiron assured her "We'll install it in the basement of the Big House and keep her down there."

"Then what?" Antonio asked "We've got Circe, did we win?"

"Not by a longshot," Raven sighed "Unfortunately, we still have to find all the pieces of Ouranos."

"We do have an advantage," Thalia noted "Now we have Circe, she might be able to shed some light on where they're at, or how many they already have."

"She won't talk," Antonio said grimly "Not willingly anyways."

"You leave that to Reyna," Raven laughed "If anyone can make her talk, it's Reyna."

"I'll have Leo get to work immediately," Chiron said "If that's all then?"

"Should be," Jason said, looking around the room "Anybody got anything else?"

Nobody said anything, and Chiron called the meeting adjourned. Raven headed off towards the forges, claiming that he was just going to give Leo a hand if he could use one, but I knew why he was really going. He would ask Leo the same questions he'd asked me, and he'd probably confront Jason and Piper later on, and possibly Annabeth too.

They would all give him a more enthusiastic answer, which is why he had come to me first.

He didn't want enthusiastic, he wanted honesty.

Antonio:

As much as I liked hanging out in the forges, I didn't go with Raven. I'd always been into cars, wood working, welding, pretty much anything to do with building something, and I'd spent a lot of time in the forges with the Hephaestus kids. Jake Mason had once commented that I could've been a son of Hephaestus if my mother hadn't been Hestia. But, it was also possible for a Demigod's ancestors to be children of a certain god, and for their traits to pass down.

But, I had other things on my mind.

In my cabin, I'd made it my own, and seeing as I was the only son of Hestia, there wasn't anybody to dispute my decorations. Motley Crue posters, Def Leppard, Metallica, all littered the wall. There were posters from an old car club my Dad and I had been a part of back home, the Rat Rod Kings. The poster itself was pretty cool, a jet black backdrop with a neon green rat riding an old Roadster with his tongue hanging out wearing a pair of sunglasses and a crown, with two girls riding in the back wearing club t-shirts.

Off in the corner, there was a small shrine to my mother. Oddly enough, it was just a simple fireplace, always blazing. I had even tried putting it out one night, but it just roared right back to life. I sat down on a chair in front of it, pausing for a moment, kind of unsure of what to say, I had never really prayed to my mother before, how were you supposed to talk.

"Uhhhh, Hey, Mom," I began, cringing at how it sounded "I, uhhh, well I know we don't talk very often. I mean, not since Olympus. I just, well, I don't know, I guess I just need advice. I mean, I don't really know what to do, ya know?"

The fire didn't suddenly start speaking to me, and I didn't expect it to. But I figured I'd at least feel something, and I did, but it wasn't my mother, that much I could tell. I wasn't exactly sure, it sort of felt like her, but not entirely, I couldn't quite put a finger on it. As the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I turned to find a young woman with auburn hair standing in my doorway, watching me.

"Lady Artemis!" I gasped, jumping up, completely taken off guard "I-I didn't expect you."

"Yes, I know," She smiled slightly as she entered "You were expecting your mother."

"I think the term I'd use is hoping for," I shrugged "But yeah."

"Your mother, unfortunately, is a bit preoccupied at the moment," She sighed "However, I overheard your prayer, and thought I'd offer my wisdom."

"Why me?" I asked her "Wouldn't it make more sense to just tell Raven or Eli?"

"It would," She agreed "But, you forget, you're just as big a part of this as either of them are. Besides, I've given both of them all I can, they don't listen to me, but you're different."

"Different?" I wondered aloud

"Very," She nodded "My sons don't trust me, when it comes to giving them information that is. Rightfully so, I've withheld too much from them in the past to demand that, an action I deeply regret. At the time, I felt as if I was doing the right thing."

"I mean, you were, weren't you?" I asked, unsure of myself "Isn't there some ancient law against revealing too much?"

"There's another reason you're different," She smiled "The three of you are the most powerful force to ever walk this Earth, and not necessarily because of your powers."

"Still not following." I remarked, trying to catch her drift

"Raven is the muscle, the unrelenting force that will attack again and again until you're too weak or tired to continue on," She explained "Eli is the brains, the one who is able to see the bigger picture more clearly than his brother, to assess the situation and attack accordingly, to spot weaknesses his brother may have overlooked, more likely to fight with his head than with his might. Raven and Eli could face the same monster and, depending on the monster, Eli would probably kill it faster."

"And me?" I wondered

"You are the voice of reason," She smiled "The one to bring balance between the two of them, willing to see things a different way just to put yourself in the perspective of someone else's shoes. You keep the two of them in check, I think a little more than you give yourself credit for."

"So how's that helping us exactly?" I asked her

"It doesn't," She remarked "We got a bit off topic. I'm assuming the advice you sought is about this whole Ouranos situation, and what you can do to stop it."

"Pretty much," I agreed "None of us have a clue what to do."

"As much I would love to hand you the answer," She sighed "I don't know either, what I can offer you is speculation, nothing more."

"It's better than anything I've got," I shrugged "Hit me."

"Well, the first thing you must think of is Circe," She said "What's her end in all of this?"

"To help Ouranos rise," I answered "What else?"

"Is that really it?" Artemis asked, smiling slightly "I recall, when you first encountered her, she was attempting to resurrect Kronos, not Ouranos."

"Then why is she hunting the pieces of Ouranos?" I asked, confused now "Wouldn't she have just brought the potion directly to Kronos."

"She could've," Artemis agreed "Unless she planned to betray him."

"How do you mean?" I asked

"If I were Circe, and I wanted to hunt for Ouranos without anybody else catching wind of what I was up to," She began "I would, first, give the gods something else to focus their attention on."

"Like bringing back Kronos." I finished

"While Kronos thinks I work for him," She continued "The gods and Kronos are both distracted, I would continue my preparation to raise Ouranos once again, who would overwhelm both of his weakened opponents."

Everything she said suddenly clicked into place all at once. We had foiled Circe's original plan, so she'd been forced to improvise, forced to change directions and adapt to the sudden change of plans. She'd done her part well, but now the question was: What is she going to tell us?

"We won't be able to do much more than speculate until we interrogate Circe," Artemis told me "Once we find out everything she knows, we can plan this war a little more accordingly."

"What if she won't talk?" I asked

"Between Eli, Reyna, Chiron, and myself," Artemis grinned slightly "I'm sure we can make her spill all of her dirty, little secrets to us."


	3. Chapter 3: Something to fight for

**Welcome back everyone, thanks for tuning in again. Not much to say so we'll just get right to it. Honestly I only write stuff up here because if you don't the chapter name is off center and it bugs the hell out of me.**

Chapter 3: Something to fight for

Eli:

The ride to Camp Half-Blood was quiet, at least, it was for me. Reyna and the others went by SUV, I chose the air.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I thought it'd be faster, it would, except I needed to fly above them and watch out for any monsters and provide cover if they needed it. Surprisingly, however, no monsters attacked during the entire two day trip.

Not that I was complaining or anything, I had enjoyed the brief period of peace and quiet, but I knew it wouldn't last. Despite everything, I couldn't push away the fact that there was a war going on, and we'd only won one victory, even if it was a pretty big one. All we had to do was get Circe to talk, much easier said than done, but I knew she would eventually, especially once Reyna got ahold of her.

When the valley leading into the camp finally came into view, I glanced back down at Reyna and the others, who had parked at the top of Half-Blood hill and were getting out of the trucks. I let out a breath I hadn't even realized that I'd been holding, we'd made it, no attacks.

I landed behind the trucks, hopping down from Ladon and telling him to keep flying above us until we'd made it into camp. With an affirmative nod, he flapped his wings and shot off into the air once again, sending up a storm of dirt and leaves as he did so.

"How were things looking from up there?" Justin coughed, waving his hand to clear the air a bit

"Nothing that I could see," I shrugged "Doesn't mean much."

"We made it here," Reyna said, stepping out of the SUV "That's what matters, let's get into the camp before all this talk makes our luck run out."

With Circe in between us, we headed up the path leading into a camp. The woods were peaceful, winter was starting to set in a little and the air was cool, the birds were starting to migrate south, I loved this time of year. That was one thing Raven and I always seemed to disagree on, he always seemed to prefer the woods during the summer, when the trees were thick and the animals were out and about. I liked it better in the winter, much less noise, easier to hear your prey, plus the cold never bothered me much anyways.

As we came up to the gate, next to Thalia's tree, I spotted Percy waiting for us, a sly grin on his face as he spotted us.

"Long time no see," He nodded as we walked up "Reyna, you're looking angry as always."

"It's just my face, Waterboy," She laughed, punching his arm as they hugged "It's good to see you again, not completely fried this time, I see."

"Takes a lot more than lightning bolt to kill me," He laughed "Come on, Leo's got a place to keep your pet."

We followed Percy into the camp which, as usual, was bustling with activity. We continued up the path towards the Big House where Chiron and Jason were waiting on the front porch, Chiron's eyebrows raised as if he could still hardly believe that he saw Circe in chains, even if she was standing right in front of him.

"Take her downstairs," Reyna barked at the two holding Circe "I want six guards at all times, two inside the room, two outside the door, and two on the porch, starting now."

Without a word, they escorted Circe inside and down the basement stairs to Leo's cell. I didn't know what Leo had built exactly, but I hoped it contained her, she'd already made one escape attempt since her capture, and I wasn't looking forward to the idea of capturing her again.

"I'll set a schedule for some of the campers to relieve your guards every hour," Chiron told Reyna "They'll need rest."

"We all do," She sighed, her demeanor finally relaxing a little "This war is far from over."

"You've won an important victory for us," Chiron replied, smiling at Reyna "Because of your efforts, Ouranos' army is without a leader for the time, something we must take full advantage of."

"Get some sleep," I told Reyna "You didn't sleep the whole trip over here and you look about ready to drop, Justin and I have this covered."

"I don't need sleep," Reyna answered "I need answers, now."

"Circe isn't going anywhere," Percy assured her "The cell Leo made is eight inch thick ballistic glass, the Hecate kids put all kinds of anti magic enchantments on it, just go get some sleep."

"Fine," She sighed, heading off to set up camp "But if she gets out, I'm going to run you through, Jackson."

"She'll probably do it for you!" Percy called after her

Reyna said nothing as she disappeared around the bend, heading off to find a decent spot to set up a tent. The rest of us stood around for a moment, probably still marveling over the fact that we'd actually captured Circe. The entire time we'd had her, I kept expecting her to suddenly change into some random monster and announce that we had failed and Circe was still at large, but it hadn't happened yet.

I excused myself and headed towards the Artemis cabin where I knew I'd find my brother and the rest of the Hunt, possibly even my mother too.

I didn't even get twenty feet from the door when I heard excited barking sounding from inside and, a now fully grown, Jello came bounding outside, happily panting as she jumped up and put her paws on my chest, licking my face over and over.

"Ahhh," I groaned, scratching her ears "C'mon, I'm not _that _awesome."

"You should see how she gets when she hasn't seen me for a while," I heard Raven laugh "What took you so long."

It had been some time since I'd last seen him, and he'd grown his hair out quite a bit. Once, we'd been only identifiable by the scar on his eye, but now his hair was almost down to his shoulders, and his bangs fell to his eyebrows and his sides now covered his ears, we were hardly even recognizable as twins anymore.

"Excuse me for not asking Circe to just zap us all over here," I grinned, entering the cabin "I didn't exactly trust it."

Inside, it was just as I had remembered it. The silver banner of my mother's greek half hung in the corner, as the Artemis cabin had won capture the flag the last seven games running, beds were made neatly, a small campfire pit set up in the center of the room, a tiny kitchen in the corner, stocked with various stoner foods no doubt, and the Hunters of Artemis lazing around, sleeping, reading, or cleaning their gear.

My mother sat on a bed in the far corner, restringing her bow, smiling at me as I entered. She stood and crossed the room, her demeanor changing and becoming a little more stern, although she was still very happy to see me after all this time.

Diana.

"Did you go and see Kayla?" She asked me

"Not yet," I told her "Figured I'd get warm before I walked over there."

"You have a pregnant girlfriend that you haven't seen in months," She began sternly "And you didn't go and see her to check on her and your son?"

"Well, when you put it like that," I laughed, dropping my back pack onto my bed "I really sound like an asshole, don't I?"

"She's fine," Raven assured me "I've been checking in on her, baby's been kicking here and there but she hasn't gone into labor yet."

"Healthy?" I asked

"That's what Apollo says," Raven shrugged "Never known the god of medicine to lie about medical stuff."

"My brother is a great many things," My mother, who had reverted back to Artemis, spoke up "A liar is not one of them."

"No it's not," I agreed, turning to my brother "You, sir, owe me five bucks."

"Yeah yeah," He grumbled, tossing a five dollar bill at me "She could've just as easily been camped out in New York."

"But she wasn't, I got to her first," I grinned "So I do believe that would put me ahead of you in points."

"What?" He argued "No way. Tartarus, Orion, Chryasor, Bloodstained Blade, I killed thousands of monster during the battle, and blue is a way better color."

"First off, we agreed colors don't count," I countered "Second, I had double your kills during the battle-"

"Like hell you did." He cut in

"I tamed a dragon," I continued "and Saturn's coffin is worth at least five points."

"It was a coffin, I'll give you three at most," He scoffed "And if that's the case, Tartarus is ten."

"Eh," I shrugged "Who's counting?"

"I'm counting!" He exclaimed

"I kinda missed you two." Thalia laughed, continuing cleaning her daggers

For the next hour or so, we sat, talked, and laughed, and I was reminded of simpler times, when we weren't at war and we'd felt like the world was safe. Ya know, that one time, right before we started getting our asses handed to us at every turn.

I'd missed them, all of them. As mistrusting as I'd felt of them all at first, the Hunters had become my family, and I'd began to think of Artemis (Diana, whatever) as my mother. I resented her at first, but then I started to understand, even sympathize with her motives. She had been afraid, I knew that, but I'd never thought about what she was afraid of.

At first, I thought she was afraid for herself, I thought she, like all the others, was being selfish, afraid of what everyone would think of her when they found out she'd given birth to two sons, breaking her vows of maidenhood, and falling in love. Afraid of what her Hunters would think of her breaking the sacred rule that she forced them to abide by, but I had been completely wrong.

Artemis was the most selfless of all the gods, never once did she fear for herself, never once did she fear what anybody else thought of her.

No, she feared for us, she feared of what her father would do to us when he found out, she feared of the enemies who would hunt us because of the blood running through our veins, she wanted us safe, no matter the cost. Deep down, she'd hoped we'd never find out we were demigods, hoped that we'd grown old, live our lives, and died never knowing who we were, because, despite all the danger we'd put ourselves into, we'd have been much safer.

How did I know this? Simple, I'd asked.

Some time after our grand heist in Washington, I managed some time alone with my mother and Raven. After trying to deal with these feelings of resentment for so long, I finally asked her, why? She didn't give me the standard excuse she had given me the first time, no, this time, she'd answered me to my own satisfaction.

Alone, in the forest, with only her sons to hear her, she fell to her knees and burst into tears.

By answering me to my own satisfaction, I didn't mean watching my mother weep in the middle of the woods, that hurt, like a dagger to the heart, and I'd regretted asking the question. But she came clean, about everything, she told us her motives, and her motives behind her motives, she shared every burden she held with us, letting us lighten her load a little bit.

As we sat in that clearing with her, both of us hugging her tight, we forgave her, we let go of every bit of resentment we had been holding for her, we loved our mother.

Yeah, that's right, I'm kind of a mama's boy now, but if you every say it out loud I'll break your jaw.

Eventually, I did excuse myself to go and find Kayla. After petting Jello goodbye, I headed outside into the camp and towards the Apollo cabin, but she wasn't there. I checked the archery range, the infirmary, I'd even gone so far as to go down to the forges to see if maybe she was just out taking a walk, but nobody had even seen her in almost an hour.

Finally, after nearly thirty minutes looking for her, I stopped under a big tree down by the lake to collect my thoughts, wondering how exactly a pregnant girl disappears in a camp full of very unpregnant teenagers.

"Let's see," I sighed, running my hand through my hair and looking around "If I were a pregnant Demigod, where would I be?"

"Mmph," Somebody above me said "Probably in a tree with a bag of Taco Bell."

And sure enough, I looked up, finding Kayla Whitaker, the daughter of Apollo, sitting in a tree, with a party pack of tacos in her lap.

And that was probably the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Reyna:

I didn't sleep long, just about four hours, I kept on waking up, unable to actually rest. Finally, I just accepted the fact I'd gotten as much sleep as I would be getting for the time being. Since it was well after night time, everybody else was asleep, meaning I would have to wait until tomorrow to have a go at Circe.

Sure, I could just walk in there and start on her myself, but the others wanted to be there, and I was never much good at story telling, save me the trouble of having to repeat everything that she would tell me, and she _would _tell me.

I pulled on a hoodie and headed outside to walk around the camp and clear my head a bit, check up on a few things. The first place I looked was the Big House, where two Ares campers were out front playing cards, no doubt grumbling about being forced to stand outside in the cold while the other four guards, whoever they were, got to be inside.

The Ares campers never were happy campers.

I noticed a couple sitting on the roof of the Artemis cabin, and I pegged it to be Eli and Kayla, judging by their long haired third wheel and the large white wolf seated next to them, Raven and his faithful canine companion.

I left them alone, as I didn't really feel like talking to anybody, I just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I happened to walk past, or rather, under, somebody who had a reputation for being able to get me to talk. Fortunately, I could kinda stand him.

"Awful late to be walking around." Antonio said from above me

"What is it with you forbidden children and roofs?" I demanded, nearly jumping out of my skin "Raven and Eli are always on the roof, Percy hangs out on his roof, Jason used to do it all the time, now you?"

"It's where all the cool kids hang out," He shrugged "Plus, it's fun."

"Sitting on the roof is fun?" I asked, skeptical

"Sitting on the roof, no," He admitted "But pegging Raven with pebbles for an hour, yes."

To demonstrate his point, he held up a small slingshot and loaded up a tiny rock inside of it. He pulled it back and took aim for a moment before letting it fly and then sliding behind the chimney attached to his cabin, dissolving into silent fits of giggles as a loud thunk was heard from nearly six cabins over.

"Ow!" Raven snapped "What the hell?"

I couldn't help it, I laughed with him. I hated him for it, but no matter how bad of a mood I was in, he always made me laugh, and it irritated me to no end. After a few moments, he seemed to be debating doing it again and eventually elected that he was officially bored with it and then slid down the roof of his cabin, landing next to me.

"Hungry?" He asked me "Kayla gave me half a party pack of tacos earlier."

As soon as he said it, I realized that I was, in fact, very hungry. Despite my misgivings and how much I'd originally just wanted to be left alone, my stomach refused to let me say no, given that I hadn't eaten a thing since before that morning.

"What do you make of all this?" He asked once we'd started eating

"I make that I can't wait to watch Circe swing from the gallows," I told him "The senate will vote her execution."

"Shouldn't you be there?" He asked "I'm not familiar with Roman politics, but isn't that something the Praetor should be there for?"

"It is," I agreed "Frank and I discussed it before I left, he will speak for the two of us, and this operation was much too important for the regular soldiers. What's the old saying? If you want something done right, do it yourself."

"You didn't trust Eli and Justin?" He wondered, raising an eyebrow

"It's not that," She said, shaking her head "Eli has proven time and time again he is more than capable of getting the job done, and Justin has been loyal to the legion since before I was ever a Praetor. But I don't like hanging around waiting for the report, especially not something like this."

"What do you reckon she knows?" He wondered "I had a talk with Artemis the other day, she seems to think Circe was planning to betray Kronos, when we stopped her from bringing him back, she had to change tactics."

"Using him to distract Olympus from noticing she was working to bring back Uranus," I nodded "Now, it's out in the open and she has to take a different approach."

"How exactly are we going to get her to talk?" He asked "She doesn't seem like the type to break to torture."

"We'll have to use...less conventional means," I agreed "Getting Circe to talk will be difficult, she might not even talk at all, but we will break her just the same."

"Don't get carried away with her," He warned me "We need her alive."

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes "That's the problem with you Greeks, you're far too soft."

"Soft?" He asked, raising an eyebrow "That hardly seems fair."

"You don't know what she did to me," I scowled "You don't know anything about that woman, who she is, or what she's capable of."

"Nothing?" He asked, rising "You sure?"

He pulled his shirt off and turned around, exposing his back to me. Instantly, I regretted my choice of words as soon as I saw the scars Kampe had left him with, on Circe's orders. Two jagged and long lines, going from his shoulder blades all the way down to his waist, they had healed, but they were very much visible, painful reminders of that day on the beach.

He knew, understood more than any of the others. I remembered how angry and helpless I'd felt as I watched Kampe's blades tear through his flesh, hearing him scream those awful, gut wrenching screams, hearing the sizzle and smelling his flesh as the acid on her blades burned his skin.

It was a memory that still continued to haunt my nightmares.

"I'm sorry," I sighed "I..."

"Forgot?" He asked softly, turning to look out the door "I didn't. I want to run her through just as much as you, I want to see her face justice for her crimes, I want to win this war."

"I know," I nodded, walking to stand beside him "We will win, we always do."

"My dad always use to tell me things that never held much meaning to me until now," He said thoughtfully "One time, he had to come and get me because I'd been suspended from school. He walks in, there I am, bloody, busted up. Some guys jumped me in the bathroom, it was almost twenty minutes before somebody walked in and broke us up."

"Sounds like a fun time." I laughed

"It was," He admitted "I fought my heart out, Dad came into the office, saw me, saw them, and just smiled, told em: 'Well, I betcha won't be doing that again anytime soon.' I'd beaten all three of them twice as bad as they'd beaten me."

"What's the moral of the story here?" I wondered

"He told me that when you're fighting for something you believed in, you'd find yourself fighting harder than you ever thought you could," He said, smiling slightly "At the time, I thought to myself that the only thing I really believed in was that those greasy bastards sure as hell weren't going to make a punk out of me."

"It's as good a cause as any," I told him "You'll never fight harder than when you're back's against the wall and you have nothing left to lose."

"Now, I have this," He said, gesturing to the camp "I have a new family, I have a home, I have something to fight for, I have everything to lose."

"Something you believe in." I finished

"Yeah," He sighed "Something I believe in."

In silence, the two of us stared out the cabin door, overlooking the beautiful valley that was Camp Half-Blood. In the silence, I remembered Camp Jupiter, I remembered everything that I had to fight for. This war was far from over, but I had, for the first time in a long time, faith that we would win.

"Put your shirt back on," I finally said, turning back to Antonio "You're making us all look fat."

"I can't decide if that's a compliment or a rejection." He grinned, reaching for his hoodie

"Well, it's certainly not an invite," I laughed, shaking my head "Afraid you're not my type."

"Oh, and what is your type?" He asked, smirking "Tall, blonde, handsome?"

"Better than lanky and whatever that thing attached to your shoulders is." I countered

"This?" He asked in mock outrage, indicating to his face "This here, lady, is the ole moneymaker."

"Hmph," I scoffed "No wonder you've only got about twenty bucks to your name."

"Is this how Romans flirt?" He asked, laughing "It's awfully hurtful."

"I'm not flirting!" I giggled

Instantly, my face turned red, did I just fucking giggle? Did I seriously just giggle, are you kidding me right now? How in the hell did I just giggle, I don't giggle, I am _not _a girly girl. I don't jump up and down, squeal with excitement, and above all, I DO NOT FREAKING GIGGLE! Yes, obviously I was flirting with him, he'd tricked me into it in a way, not that I minded, he wasn't bad looking, but making me giggle I could not forgive.

He stopped, looking at me with a confused look on his face, and I felt my cheeks get hotter and hotter. He raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Shut up!" I snapped

"Did you just-" He tried

"Shut up!" I snapped again

"I just thoug-" He tried again

"Shut up!" I growled, glaring at him

In spite himself, he started to smile, snickering despite how hard he was clearly trying to stop himself. This frustrating idiot was really starting to piss me, so I closed the gap between us and slapped him hard across the face, stopping his snickering.

"What was that for?" He asked, confused

"I told you to shut up." I hissed at him, glaring

"Well that seemed a bit over the top," He shrugged "Besides, hearing you giggle was pretty funny."

"I did not giggle." I growled, getting ready to slap him again

"You did." He said, nodding

"Shut up." I snapped again

"What, I'm just telling the tr-" He started

"Ugh," I growled in frustration "Shut up, you idiot!"

I lashed out again, but, instead of smacking him, I grabbed his hoodie and yanked him close to me, enjoying the look of shock on his face for just a moment before I pressed my lips against his, kissing him. For a moment, time stood still, and I felt him straighten up in surprise before he relaxed again, his hands falling to rest on the small of my back, pulling me in close.

Gods forbid somebody ever ask me about my first kiss.


	4. Chapter 4: Love bites

**And welcome back everyone, not much to talk about so I'll get right to it. Also, just to give you a little something to look for, I'm gonna tie this chapter into that little Demigod/Vietnam bit I did a while ago.**

Chapter 4: Love bites

Antonio:

When the sun rose the next morning, I found Reyna, Eli, Raven, Artemis, Amber, Thalia, Percy, Leo, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Justin already assembled on the front porch of the Big House, ready to go. Reyna cast an awkward glance at me, which I'd like to think I returned with a smooth and casual grin, but I'm betting it came out more of a grimace.

Not that I had anything to grimace about, I was just still kind of caught off guard about the whole thing, and yes I was still thinking about it.

"Glad you got your beauty sleep," Eli nodded to me "I've been here for an hour and a half."

"To be fair, we never agreed on a time." I shrugged

"Can we get breakfast first?" Percy yawned, stretching his arms out "It's way too early."

"I could go for some food." Raven agreed as an afterthought

"Answers," Annabeth told them "Then food."

"Awwww." Percy, Jason, Leo, Thalia, and Raven all groaned in unison

A few moments later, Chiron came rolling outside, looking as if he hadn't slept any more than the rest of us. There were bags under his eyes, his face sagged, but he rolled on, a cup of coffee in his hand. Without a word, we all entered the Big House and headed towards the basement stairs.

"Nobody lose their cool," Piper told everybody "We appear calm, collected, in control, and we'll already have the edge on her."

I figured it was much easier said than done, but I nodded along with everyone else as we descended down below. Vaguely, I wondered what was normally kept down here, as once we entered, the entire room was completely bare, except for a cell in the corner, with a woman inside, sitting cross legged, seeming at peace.

Circe.

The cell didn't look like anything special, but I had no doubt that Leo had pulled out all the stops on this thing and I knew Circe wasn't going anywhere. If she was, she would've already been gone the night before.

"Give us the room," Reyna told the guards "Get some food and sleep, we'll let the next shift know when we're done."

In response, the two heavily armored legionnaires nodded and headed up the stairs, leaving the fourteen of us in the room alone with Circe, who still hadn't opened her eyes from what I guessed was her meditation. Silently, everybody looked back and forth at one another, wondering who was going to get to have first go at her.

But, almost as if mentally pushing everybody out of her way, Reyna stepped forward, snatching the keys from Leo and opening Circe's cell.

Her hands and feet were cuffed in what I knew were also magic chains, but that still didn't stop me from drawing back when the cell opened, as if Circe would suddenly regain her magical strength and blast her way out of captivity.

She didn't though, only opened her eyes and looked up at Reyna, smiling that evil smile of hers, as if we were the ones who'd been captured.

"Reyna, dear," She said sweetly "My, you're glowing, the days have been treating you well."

In response, Reyna backhanded Circe so hard it made the slap she'd given me the night before look like a love tap. Instantly, her face started to bruise, and I knew she was in for a long day, and there were thirteen other people waiting in line.

"That seemed unnecessary." Circe chided with mock offense, spitting some blood onto the floor

"Where are the pieces of Uranus?" She demanded

"I'm afraid I'm not following." Circe smiled, feigning confusion

Reyna dragged her out of the cell and threw her on the ground in front of us and we gathered around her, forming a semicircle around the front of the cage, making sure the only way she had to go if she tried anything was back inside.

"Can it, witch," Justin spat, drawing his knife "We know what you were looking for, you can tell us, or you can die."

"Well, it seems I'm going to die anyways," Circe shrugged "What's the point."

"If you cooperate," Reyna growled, kicking her in the back and pushing her to the dirt "I'll take your head off, quick and painless. If you waste my time, I'll cut off a few other limbs before your head, I'll make your death last days."

Reyna was starting to scare me, and I vaguely wondered what I'd gotten myself into. _She'd_ kissed _me_, that means she was definitely interested, which means there's no turning back if she decided she wanted to cut _my_ head off.

"Hmmph," Circe huffed "You're not very good at being civil, dear. I'd much rather deal with Percy Jackson or Jason Grace, even the Alistair brothers are nicer than you."

In a flash, Artemis snatched the witch up and pinned her to the side of the cell, getting up close in her face and making a deep growling noise in the back of her throat, almost like a wild animal giving a predator their last warning before it pounced.

"Where are they?" She snapped "The pieces of Ouranos, where?"

"Not ringing a bell," She taunted, her smile not even faltering "Could you be a little more specific?"

"Just tell us," Piper told her "That's the best option."

"It is," Circe nodded, agreeing before looking confused and shaking her head violently "Stop! Your tricks don't work on me, Charmspeaker!"

"They seem to be," Piper said, stepping forward as Artemis dropped Circe to the ground in front of her "Where are the pieces of Ouranos? You can tell me, I'm not going to tell the others."

"You seem like an honest-ARGH!" She screamed, shaking her head violently "Stop!"

"Where are they?" Piper said, more forcefully this time

For a moment, Circe's eyes remained defiant, but then they became hazy, darting around in confusion before locking onto Piper and staring intently, as if trying to peer into her very soul. Piper stared back, not folding under the gaze of the witch, and Circe eventually looked away.

"We have most of them," She said in a daze "Hidden on my old island in the Sea of Monsters, where we'll perform the sacrament. We only have one left, but it's hidden away, sealed by ancient magic."

"Where?" Piper asked again, maintaining her same, forceful tone

"The fields of Punishment," She answered, still dazed "Guar-ARGH! NO!"

"Guarded by what?" Piper demanded, her sudden bark making me jump

"Guarded by hordes of tortured souls, those who have broken their vows on the River Styx, traitors, murders, thieves," She said "In death, they sword one, final oath to the goddess, protect the heart of Ouranos."

"And you haven't been able to kill them?" Piper asked

"No, they cannot be killed, only temporarily disposed of," She confirmed "We've wasted thousands of troops trying to get to it. Everytime we got close, they reformed and cut us off."

"Ask her about the rest of it," Percy whispered "Blood of the innocent and all that."

"Sounds self explanatory." Eli remarked

"What about the rest of it?" Piper asked her "A gift from the enemy, flesh of the virgin, blood of the innocent."

For a moment, Circe was silent, but then she began laughing. She cackled madly, as if she had just scored a huge victory, and I wondered what was going on in her head. Reyna started to step forward, but Justin and I grabbed her, holding her back.

"No losing your cool," Justin whispered to her "For now, we need her alive."

Reyna glared at him, but nodded, stepping back as Circe continued to laugh, eventually looking at us with a wild look in her eyes. Despite myself, I shuddered, seeing that look in her eyes shook my to my very core, like she had finally snapped.

"They seem very obvious, don't they?" She asked, still laughing "Tells you exactly what I need."

"You've spilled plenty of innocent blood in your time," Jason told her "So what's holding you back?"

"It isn't that simple, dear," She continued to cackle "Nobody in this world is innocent. All of us have done something that takes our innocence from us, we all have a bit of evil."

"So then where do you plan on getting the blood?" Piper demanded

Circe said nothing this time, she just laughed, that deranged, evil, maniacal laugh. I couldn't figure out what it was she thought was so funny, but she continued to laugh for a few minutes, never slowing down to even catch her breath.

"I think we're done here," Raven said, reaching under his hoodie "Piper's charmspeak isn't working anymore, and she's getting on my nerves."

In the same breath, he pulled his gun out of his waistband and leveled it at Circe's head, his finger dashing immediately to the trigger. Time froze for a moment, and everything happened way too fast for any of us to react to it.

Everybody, that is, except for Eli, who seemed to anticipate his brother's move. Even so, he was still in the nick of time, grabbing Raven's wrist and forcing it upwards just as he squeezed the trigger. Everybody jumped as the round hit the ceiling and sent a dust cloud falling down around us.

"What?" Raven demanded, sounding more annoyed than anything "Why not?"

"She isn't yours to kill," Eli said firmly, not letting go of Raven's wrist "She was captured by Romans, she'll face Roman justice."

"What's the difference?" Raven asked, rolling his eyes "I blow her brains out right now or you guys hang her or whatever you do in a couple weeks."

Eli said nothing, but he kept a firm grip on Raven's wrist. Circe had now stopped laughing, and was watching the brothers with mild interest, as if they weren't debating her death. I don't think she cared either way, I'm sure there was some kind of backup plan.

"Alright," Percy said, stepping between them carefully "Lets take a little break, cool down, discuss what we've learn."

Silently, I think everybody agreed. Justin and Thalia grabbed Circe's arms and lifted her up, putting her back inside the cell Leo had constructed. As the door shut, I saw Circe smiling, looking at Reyna with evil intent. I had a feeling deep in my gut that Circe wasn't done tormenting her, and if I had known what was going to happen, I probably would've stopped Eli and just let Raven kill her then and there.

Raven:

Hours later, things had settled down a little bit. We had talked over what we learned, which was a considerable amount given that we all didn't think Circe would talk. There was one concern, however, that continued to be the main point of conversation, how easy it had been.

Piper's charmspeak was powerful, but even she wasn't completely sure it was powerful enough to force Circe to tell us the truth, leading us all to agree on one, single, conclusion.

Circe had a plan. She'd wanted to be captured, she wanted us to know the location of Ouranos' heart, so that we could go and get it for her, or die in the process.

We could only hope she hadn't accounted for being brought to Camp Half-Blood.

"This whole thing's a suicide mission," I groaned, looking at Thalia "If we just leave it there, it'll be much safer than with us."

"They'll figure out a way to get to it." She told me

"Without Circe's leadership?" I argued

"There's backups," Thalia told me, as if speaking to a child "There's always backups."

Finally, I gave up. My mother agreed with her, so if I didn't go along with it, they were just going to go anyways and I'd have to live with the knowledge that I let them all go right into the waiting arms of death without charging into it's all too familiar embrace with them.

I'd just have to figure out how to break it to Eli and Antonio. Couldn't exactly just be like "Hey, you guys want to go running off to a suicide mission with me?" Sure, we'd done it before, but this was something else all together.

In one, final effort, I looked over to Amber for support, knowing she would be able to talk some sense into them.

Except, she wasn't on her bunk. I looked around the cabin, sitting up as I did so, but I didn't see her anywhere. I wondered where she could possibly be during such an important time like this, and I was a little irritated that she'd left me to fend for myself on this one.

Silently, I left the cabin to go find her. The winter air bit at my skin as I stepped outside the door, and I looked around to see if I could spot her. The snow was falling gently around the camp, so I could see very far in front of me, much less make out anybody's faces wrapped in their hoods.

I kept walking, checking all the normal spots she liked to hang out, but she wasn't in any of them, I was starting to wonder if maybe she was asleep and I had just missed her. Just as I was about to give up, I spotted something in the treeline of the woods. It looked like a figure on one of the limbs, I might've turned away, assuming it was nothing, except the figure was so well concealed I knew it was a Hunter, the only one who wasn't inside enjoying the warmth.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked as I pulled myself onto the branch next to her

"I'd really just like to be alone." She sighed, stuffing something into her jacket

"What's that?" I asked her, peering at her neck

She'd always worn a necklace, but I'd never thought much of it, I'd always just assumed it was, like, something girly that girls liked to wear. But I was starting to get the sense that whatever it was was pretty sentimental to her, and probably painful too, judging by her face.

She sighed, probably realizing I wasn't going to drop the subject, the Hunters were my family, and you never let your family burden their demons alone, whatever they were.

"My dad gave it to me," She told me, pulling off her necklace "When I joined."

It was a set of dog tags, an old pair by the look of them. They were scuffed up, with a slight bend to the top.

**Adella, Oscar D**

**O Neg**

**465273928**

**USMC**

"So do you often go hide in a tree to look at them or is something wrong?" I asked her

"My stepmom sent me an iris message last night," She sighed "My dad is dying."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. Oh, well I'm sorry really wasn't going to cut it. Thing about Amber, and even me for that matter, is that sometimes, silence and just knowing somebody else was there with you did more than sympathy ever could.

"You want to go and see him?" I guessed "Don't you?"

"I do," She nodded "But, with everything that's going on, it seems like every time I turn my back you get yourself into something."

"Not true," I argued "But I see your point. Regardless, I think you should go if you want to."

"This is a really bad time for me to up and leave." She sighed

"You aren't up and leaving," I told her, rolling my eyes "You're going to visit your dad. If it'll make you feel better, I'll go with you and you can keep an eye on me."

"Would you?" She asked, almost hopefully, looking up at me "Really?"

"Of course," I nodded "It'll probably make my mother feel better too."

She went silent again, and I didn't say anything. The two of us just sat in the tree silently, looking out into the woods. I felt, for just a moment, like the entire world had just disappeared and it was only the two of us and that tree.

She was beautiful, with the moonlight shining off of her hair, the snow falling around her. I found myself, very violently I might add, screaming every curse word I knew in my head, and even making up a few, for her being a Hunter. I had feelings for her, sure, but she didn't want anything to do with it, so, out of respect for her, I had to shove those feelings down and pretend they didn't exist.

Who knew falling in love was such a pain in the ass?


	5. Chapter 5: Change of plans

**Welcome back everyone. If ya'll have read Bred for war, this chapter ties into that story just a little bit, see if you can spot it.**

Chapter 5: Change of plans

Raven:

My mother was less than pleased about Amber and I going off to see her father, but I talked her into it, promising I would go with her as backup just in case anything wrong.

It's not like we expected anything to wrong, but, c'mon, we're Demigods. Every single time we go anywhere to do anything something happens. Percy can't go to school without getting attacked by monsters, I can't go to Taco Bell without running into a Gorgon, Leo can't go anywhere without catching something on fire...Well, that last one might be unrelated, but you get the point.

We left fairly early in the morning, catching a cab wasn't too difficult once we'd made the walk to the road. Eli and Antonio were heading to ask Circe more questions as we left, deciding it would just be best if Reyna didn't take part anymore, this whole thing was getting way too personal for her.

"How long has it been since you've seen him?" I asked "Your Dad, I mean."

"Give or take," She sighed "Seven or eight years, I used to make a trip to see him whenever the Hunters came through New York, but, last time, we kinda had a fight?"

"Mind me asking what about?" I asked her

"My stepmother and I got into a little bit," She sighed "We normally get along pretty well, but between my Dad's deteriorating health, nobody being around to help, and stress from her job, she just had enough."

"So what's wrong with him?" I asked

"Some form of cancer," She said quietly "My dad was in Vietnam, I was just a baby when he left. What do you know about the war?"

"A little bit," I shrugged "My dad was a huge history buff, especially World War two and Vietnam era stuff."

"Napalm and Agent Orange," She said "They used an abundance of it during the war. Recently, within the last ten years or so, a lot of Vietnam veterans have been coming up with illnesses and whatnot because of inhaling a lot of the chemicals."

"Your dad is one of them?" I guessed

"Yeah," She nodded "My Dad served in a place called Khe Sanh, there was a lot of fighting there, even for as violent as the war was. Having the ability to call in air support gave the Americans a huge advantage against their enemy, and one of their greatest weapons was Napalm. The worse the fighting got, the more often the strikes came in."

"Your Dad showed up at the peak of it," I guessed "Inhaled more of it than most."

She gave no response, which was all the answer I needed. I didn't push any further, didn't ask anymore questions, I figured I'd pushed her as far as I'd be able to today.

The hospital was pretty packed, given that it was a weekend, most of the people were there visiting relatives on whatever time they had off of work. I stuck close to Amber, trying to make sure nothing snuck up behind her. Crowds made me especially nervous, I'd been stabbed before at an underground party. It was supposed to be neutral ground, nobody was allowed to wear flags and any markings or tattoos had to be covered up, but, ya know, rules are meant to be broken.

She approached the front desk, her demeanor not faltering. A normal person would've never taken a second glance at her, never known anything was wrong, but I knew.

It's not just because she told me, it was the way she was carrying herself. She was dragging her feet just a little bit, like she was dreading this meeting, her breathing got a little shakier the closer we got, her jaw began to clench, as if she was trying to keep her lip from trembling.

When we got to the front desk, we were greeted by an older lady, who, by the looks of her, wasn't having a great day. Her gray hair was a mess, she looked tired, as most older folks do. Her nails were gnarled and she looked as if she would take a swing on the next person to approach her.

Thank the gods she didn't, I wasn't looking forward to adding old ladies to my list of muggings.

"Can I help you?" She asked, her voice cold and raspy, like one of those anti smoking commercials

"I'm here to see Oscar Adela." She told her

"Room number?" She asked dismissively, typing on her computer

"I..I'm not sure," She said shakily "I was...out of town when I found out."

"Only people allowed inside to visit are family." She told her

"I'm his daughter," She said "And this is...his...nephew."

She stared at us, as if trying to see some sort of resemblance. I didn't figure she was going to see one, but I knew that wasn't necessarily a reason to tell me I couldn't go back with Amber. Eventually, she stopped staring and went back to her computer, typing for a moment before looking back up at us.

"Room seventeen, fourth floor." She said shortly

The two of us thanked her and headed to the elevator, neither one of us speaking the whole ride up. After a moment, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a long, narrow hallway.

There was a small bustle of activity as nurses walked back and forth, phones ringing, the sound of typing filled the hall. Amber and I continued down the hall until we reached the room we were looking for. Her father's name was written on one of the plaques outside next to the door: Oscar Adella. Amber stopped, trying her best to steady her breathing before she entered the room. I placed my hand on her shoulder, trying my best for a supporting smile, but I knew I wasn't helping much, as much as I tried.

Without even looking at me, she took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

There were two people inside already, one was an elderly woman. Her long, gray hair reached down past her shoulder blades, and her wrinkled hands clutched someone else's as she spoke softly. The man in the bed looked like he had seen better days. His hair was gone, even though I knew he was old, he looked so worn, as if he was simply holding on for one more thing, one final person before he let Death take him.

And I had a feeling that person had just stepped into the room.

When we entered, he looked up and smiled, his pale face gaining back just a little bit of color.

"Amber?" He asked quietly "Is that you?"

"It's me," She said, her voice shaking through her smile as she went to stand beside him "I'm here."

"My eyes," He laughed, coughing just a bit "They aren't what they used to be."

For a few moments, they were silent, simply staring at eachother in amazement. I almost felt as if I should step out of the room before her father suddenly looked over at me and stared me up and down, giving me a slight smile.

"Aren't Hunters supposed to abstain from dating?" He asked, looking at Amber slyly

"Oh he's not-" She stammered, turning red "Lady Artemis sent him with me, it's dangerous for Demigods to be traveling alone these days."

"Raven Alistair," I said, stepping forward and extending my hand "Son of Artemis."

"Well, I'll be," He smiled in amazement "Alistair, eh? Any relation to a Thomas Alistair? Marine?"

"My grandfather," I nodded to him "You knew him?"

"Knew him?" Oscar laughed, coughing again "Course I did. Kid, your grandfather saved my life more than once. We were pretty good friends after the war, kept in touch for a few years, haven't heard from him since eighty three."

"Dad," Amber said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder "Don't sit up so fast."

"Ahhh I'm fine," He said, clearing his throat "Raven, this is Grace, my wife."

She smiled, shaking my hand before quickly turning back to take care of her husband. Oscar seemed happier since Amber had arrived, and his smile hadn't wavered since she'd entered the room. We stayed all night, and I hadn't even realized how late it was until the nurse entered for her final check of the night before she went on break.

I'll give the man credit, he knew his time was limited, and he didn't waste any of it. All night, he smiled, joked, laughed, even through his coughing fits he never stopped smiling. He seemed really happy to be able to see his daughter one last time, and I could see Amber trying to keep herself together, knowing she was witnessing her father's final hours.

As the night went on, I could slowly see him getting worse and worse, but he held on, determined to spend every second he possibly could with his daughter.

He finally passed just before sunrise, with a content smile on his face, holding his wife and daughter's hands.

Eli:

When the next morning came, Reyna was shaking me awake inside the Artemis cabin. As I came to, disoriented and unsure of what was happening, the first thing I noticed was the purple cloak right in front of my face, and the stern looking girl wearing it.

"You're late," She snapped "I've been waiting an hour, we were supposed to go interrogate Circe again."

"Sorry," I groaned, rubbing my temples "I had a bit too much to drink last night."

"Let's go, get dressed," She ordered "Chiron is waiting for us."

"I've been meaning to talk to you, about Circe," I began cautiously "I think, maybe, it's best if you sit this whole interrogation thing out."

"What?" She asked angrily, turning to face me

It wasn't a question, she heard me, she knew exactly what I had said, it was a challenge, she was daring me to say it again, she was giving me one opportunity to take back what I had said, something that, unfortunately for one of us, I wasn't going to do.

"You heard me," I said calmly "You're way too emotionally evolved with her."

"I HATE HER!" She screamed, losing her composure for a moment "You don't realize what that woman has taken from me, you have no idea."

"And if I did, I would feel the same way," I nodded, trying to calm her down "But, you need to understand something I learned a very long time ago. Rage and clear thinking never go together, every time you see her, the only thing you see clearly is her hanging from the gallows."

"She deserves a slow and painful death." She spat at me

"She will answer for her crimes," I assured her "You will see her executed, you will see her hang, I promise. But you're in no shape to get information from her, when it's time for her to die, then I'll call you."

Reyna was silent, I could feel her anger from across the room, she was absolutely seething, but she knew I was only saying the truth. She knew she couldn't think clearly when she saw Circe, she knew she'd snap if she spent another second anywhere near her, I just hoped she could remain calm enough to listen to reason.

Finally, she sighed, turning to face me and nodded, angry defeat written all over her face.

"Fine," She agreed "I want a full detailed report when you're done, immediately following, I don't care who I'm with, or what I'm doing, I want to know everything she says, do I make myself clear?"

"Aye, Praetor." I nodded

With that, she turned away from me and left the cabin, an entire ass chewing about Legion rank structure left unspoken in the air. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I hadn't heard the last of this from her, but she was, for the moment at least, allowing clearer heads to prevail.

For a long time, she'd burdened more weight on her shoulders than anyone else her age, mortal or Demigod. Eventually, any sane human being would snap, and I was amazed she'd managed to maintain her sanity for so long, but even now, I could see the pressure of everything starting to get to her.

Reyna was strong, stronger than anyone I'd ever met, and fiercely loyal too. But strength, like everything else, had it's limits, and I was beginning to fear that Reyna was reaching her's.

I got dressed and left the cabin, heading towards the Big House. The sun was just barely risen, and I was really starting to miss my bed. Jello trotted behind me, panting happily, just excited to be breathing. She often slept in Raven's bed, but whenever he wasn't there she would sleep in mine. Not that I minded, I loved dogs, animals in general really but I held a soft spot for dogs, couldn't exactly lay in bed and watch TV with a dragon.

As I neared the front porch of the Big House, I saw Chiron and Percy standing outside waiting for me. Percy looked as if he had also just woken up, and continued to yawn periodically as I approached them.

"Ready?" I asked, stepping up onto the porch

"Unfortunately, I think we may have to wait on furthering our interrogation of Circe," Chiron told me "Percy?"

"Frank just contacted me," Percy told me, finishing a yawn "We seem to have a slight issue regarding our security."

"What?" I asked "How?"

"Somehow, a group of monsters got past the defenses at Camp Jupiter," He told me "They were eventually killed, but they were in the process of searching the camp, I'm assuming they were searching for Circe."

"With no clear indication of how much they had searched or what they had found out," Chiron added "Frank thought it best to alert us and have us double check our own borders as well."

"I'm on it," I nodded, getting ready to head out "I'll notify Reyna, Percy you get in touch with the cabin leaders, _only _the cabin leaders. If they have anybody hanging about that they don't recognize, come find me or you immediately."

"I'm on it." Percy nodded

Before we could move, however, the Big House door opened and a man stepped out. He was chubby, with a puffy red face and a leopard pattern Hawaiian shirt, wearing purple running shoes and looking exhausted of being alive.

"Who's this guy?" I asked, raising my eyebrows to Chiron

"Honestly, boy," He rolled his eyes "You've been to Olympus twice now."

"This is Mr. D, our camp directer," Percy told me "Dionysus."

"The god?" I asked, confused

"No, the clerk at seven eleven," He rolled his eyes again "Yes, the god, you idiot."

"And where in the hell have you been?" I asked him

"Dealing with other matters," He said dismissively, opening a diet coke "Listen, Ethan is it? Quit wasting your time with me, you have defenses to secure."

"What will you be doing to help, exactly?" I asked "Or is this matter too trivial for you?"

"Far too trivial," He agreed "Run along."

Before I could smack him in his godly face, Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me off the porch, heading off into the main area of the camp. There were only a few people out, so I didn't know if any of the cabin leaders would be awake. If our experience with the spy last winter had taught me anything, it's that pulling the cabin leader aside in front of everyone raised some red flags, and very fast.

"Don't mind him," Percy told me "He likes to be an ass because he can. He grows on you."

"Grows on you?" I laughed "Really, that guy grows on you?"

"Sure," He replied "In a crazy, only see him on major holidays, drunk uncle sort of way. Guy still thinks my name is Peter Johnson, and I've been here for close to seven years."

"Seriously?" I asked in shock "Dude, you're famous! How does he not know your name?"

"He's immortal," Percy shrugged "When you've seen as many famous heroes as he has, I'm sure the names all start to blend together."

Percy and I arrived on the edge of the camp, agreeing to split up and cover more ground. I moved to the right, catching most of the cabin leaders as they were just waking up, there were a few of them still asleep, and I had to break my own rule about only cabin leaders, but only twice, with instructions to inform the cabin leader as soon as they were awake and nobody else. (Don't look at me like that, I recognized them.)

"Is that everyone?" He asked

"Yeah, on this side." I nodded

"Good," He said "Annabeth is organizing a detail, only people we are absolutely sure have been here. They're going to secure the borders and post sentries."

"I'm going to go find Reyna," I told him "She'll want to know about this."

Unfortunately for me, Kayla chose that moment to stumble out the Apollo cabin, supported by Will Solace and another camper from her cabin, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain.

"Eli!" Will called, spotting me "Her water broke!"

_Shit! _I though to myself, panicking _This is happening, it's really happening! I'm gonna be a dad! Oh fuck! I'm gonna be a dad..."_

**I apologize to everyone for the long wait, work and writer's block haven't been very nice to me as of late. But I'm ready to write, so I'll see you next time.**


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